Devices can access, and communicate with, a network via an access point of the network. The network may be a Local Area Network (LAN), such as a LAN of a business to which employees of the business can connect or a home network for personal use e.g. a home Wi-Fi network. Alternatively, the network may be a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as the Internet. The access point can be a wireless access point such that devices can communicate with the access point wirelessly (e.g. using a Wi-Fi connection, or some other wireless connection as is known in the art). In order for a device to communicate with an access point, the device may be required to use a particular set of network access credentials for accessing the network via the access point. When a device uses the correct set of access credentials for a particular access point then the device is permitted to access the network via the access point, and will thereby use the correct protocol in communicating over the network via the access point. By requiring the device to have the correct access credentials, it can be ensured that only particular devices (i.e. those using the correct access credentials) can access the network via the access point e.g. to prevent unwanted users accessing a particular network via a particular access point.
A wireless access point is typically identifiable ‘over the air’ by two of its properties: (i) an operator-specified Service Set Identifier (SSID) which is a name of the wireless network set by an proprietor or operator of the access point; and (ii) a unique Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) e.g. a wireless interface Media Access Control (MAC) address, the MAC address being a unique 48 bit value assigned to the access point by the manufacturer of the access point. The SSID and the BSSID act as identifiers of the access point.
Access credentials for accessing a wireless network via an access point may include an encryption method (such as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), or Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2 (WPA2)) and an encryption algorithm (such as Temporary Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), or Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)) to be used when communicating with the access point. The access credentials may also include a network key (password) which must be verified in order for a device to be permitted to access the network via the access point. The length of the network key may be dependent on the chosen encryption method. For a device to be able to gain access to the network via the access point, the access credentials have to be available to the device. The access credentials needed to access the network via the access point may be specific to the particular access point used.
The first time a user uses a user device to access a network via an access point, which has been detected by an operating system (“OS”) of the device, they may need to select the detected network via a user interface of the operating system and then enter the necessary access credentials. The operating system may store the access credentials as entered by the user to create a network profile for that access point populated with those access credentials. Thereafter, the user device can connect to the network automatically via that access point (i.e. without user input) upon redetection of that access point.